Respect

Respect has to be earned. Respect is not something automatically received.

Almost three weeks ago the culmination of almost a year's training came to fruition for 28 triathlon club mates when they took to the start of the Challenge Roth triathlon in Germany.

I know a good number of them and have watched their training throughout the year as they've toiled for hour after hour, week after week to simply get to the starting line. Now let me say that I wasn't involved in ANY of the training in any way shape or form but chatting to colleagues and seeing various social media and online discussions I was well aware of the effort, commitment and sacrifices being made for this training.

Long cycles. Long runs. Recovery swims (which would be longer than a 'normal' training session). All par for the course. All the norm.

Disk wheel. Tubs. Clinchers. Gels. Nutrition plan. Walk-run strategy. The lingo, discussions and debates were all brought to a new level...(just don't ask how much anyone's bike cost!)

On the day followed the progress of as many of the guys and girls as possible as often as possible throughout the day online through their swim (3.8km), cycle (180km) and run (42.2km). Any time lags between time splits had my mind racing about what might have happened. The chat across Twitter and FB amongst us homebird Piranhas frenetic but also great to see. At least I wasn't the only one wondering about the splits. Willing everyone across the line. All 28 completed the race which was a fantastic feat in itself.

That no-one was fully happy with their times (seriously Will?) also goes to show the thorough preparation and subsequent expectation everyone had put on their shoulders.

After hearing various war stories and reading the raw emotion of the race reports to date - all inspiring - it is very clear everyone's heart and soul was poured into preparing for and equally, completing the race / event on the day.

I have a much better understanding of what is needed to complete an Ironman race. My admiration for those who have completed has increased.

Respect earned by each and every one of you. Total and utter respect.

Two steps forward. One step back.

The season is well and truly started but I don't know if I'm going forward or back.

Yesterday I was in the pool for the first time in a few weeks. And it hurt. Badly. I was terrible. Technique was awful. My endurance non-existent. I quit a session early for the first time ever. I left with my tail firmly between my legs.

This hurt all the more because over the past few weeks I have been properly trying to get into my running. I have been getting at least two sessions in a week, squeezing them in at lunchtime My mileage has been increasing steadily. Unfortunately the speed isn't increasing at the same speed. But nonetheless I'm running consistently which is more than I was doing this time last year.

My cycling has been improving as well. At least three times a week I am cycling into work, so the legs are firmly turning and the body is getting back into decent shape.

And then the swimming debacle happened.

Finding a balance between all three disciplines isn't easy as life is flying by. But with only 4 weeks to my first race of the season I'll have to find the balance and get wet into the pool more often. Fast.

No time to be going backwards.

Why do triathletes shave their chests?

Triathletes are a funny bunch. Aero helmets I can understand. €5,000 on a bike. I understand.  Shaved legs. I kinda understand. Shaving your chest. Now this one is lost on me.

I've spoken before about the lingo of triathlon and it has taken me a few years to get my head around it and I am still learning.  Then there's the kit, the gear, the training aids. Garmin. Strava. GPS. Power meter.

All are seen as ways to improve and ways to get faster.

Last year I debated whether to get a TT, sorry time trial,  bike. My attempt to get better. I got faster but I also got passed by a lot of triathletes on regular bikes. I am getting better. There is always a sese that you have to be able to use the equipment to the best of your ability, and not come in at the back...all look. No substance! You can turn up for your first triathlon with all the gear but chances are it won't work. 

My newest debate in attempt to get better is the possible investment in an aero helmet. My next level of trying to get better.  I want to get faster. I am trying to train harder to get faster.  But I don't want to look like that guy who's spent money but is still crap.

I want to be faster. I want to be a better triathlete.  But I really don't want to look foolish.  So I'm currently looking at semi-aero helmets. It'll work while training as well as racing (I don't want to use the word 'competing' yet). So it will be another step. 

You can say looking well is important but backing that up with results in triathlon is key.

So this year is about upgrading my gear slightly and upgrading the results significantly. Last year the TT bike made sense. So this year I hope the (semi) aero helmet makes sense.

Each year I am learning more. Understanding what can help to make the small differences.  Maybe I am yet to fully learn, but quite how shaving you chest will make a difference is beyond me.

Back in the swing of things. Kinda.

Training - 1 pilates class. Result: sore.

Training - leg strengthening exercises. Result: sore and stiff.

Training - 2 runs. Result: sore and out of breath.

Training - 2 swims. Result: sore and distinct feeling of un-fitness (not even a word for it!)

This isn't easy.  I never expected it to be. I knew it would be hard work to get back
into shape. Race-ready shape (whatever that means). But my body is sore.

I knew it would would be sore. But it is almost the fear of stepping out of bed each morning and worrying about, not how sore will you be, but more how much of you is sore.

My swimming wasn't pretty; my cycling non-existent and my running...well I managed to keep running.  So that's something at least.

But it is a week when I managed to get more done than almost in total the previous month.  So at least that's something. I didn't try to kill myself.  And I'm back into the swing of things.  Kinda.

Now to string a few good weeks together...

Onwards and upwards. Or else!

It's been a while since on here and my blog procrastination has not been alone. The swimming was going well. The cycling was okay if only due to the commute to work and the running,  well the running just hasn't happened.

While due to other commitments over the past 6 weeks have reduced my time to train - I hate hearing myself make excuses - things are now reaching a crucial point in the season.

I did a nice bit of work over the winter but that may be all but gone. I really have to get my ass in gear. The sun (!) is up earlier and it is finally warmer.  So it is time to get back into shape for the season.  And properly push on.

5 national series races is the target with solid performances throughout. (I think it's too early in my career to take a podium position just yet.)

I may have less time to train than last year.  I just have to use my time more cleverly,  stop making excuses and get off my arse.

As they say actions speak louder than words.  So with pilates on Thursday and swimming on Friday morning,  its a start in the right direction.  We'll take it one week at a time. And hopefully it will mostly be upwards.

Is the off season a chance to move backwards or forwards?

So the off season has begun.  And not without a little trepidation. There was me thinking that the off season meant kicking back and munching on Tayto’s in front of a fire with a pint of Guinness in my hand. My bad!

Apparently the off season simply means training continues, maybe not as intensively (but I can’t say I trained too intensively during the season anyway) but with no races to break up the monotony.  However, rather than put a realistic training plan together, I have actually spent more time creating a completely unrealistic wish list. What gadget will shave 4 seconds off my run, what helmet/bike/wheel (delete as relevant) will increase my speed from slow to slight less slow?

But worst of all is that the mornings have closed in and it is dark now when I hop on the train to go swimming twice a week. While there will be a bit of a let up on this in a month’s time, it is an easy excuse to use to simply turn over and reset the alarm for a Godly hour! While I have my targets written now for 2013, I am still not 100% sure quite how I will get there. Swimming was the focus for 2012.  The key benefit was a better understanding of the mechanics of a swim stroke – as complex as a golf swing as far as I’m concerned – and while I can’t yet properly auto-correct, and am getting advice on a weekly basis, I know that I am improving, getting more efficient and ultimately getting faster.

So with that in mind, I think running has to be the focus for 2013 and I have signed up for a chi running course with Irish distance legend Catherina McKiernan.

However, running has always been the one tri discipline that I have avoided when it comes to training.  Having ruptured my Achilles tendon more than 10 years ago, I have always been a reluctant runner. And in a previous life I never raced more than 110 metres, and two warm up laps of any pitch or track filled me with dread.  So a few years ago, any thoughts of taking on a triathlon with a 5km, 10km, let alone 21.1km run always cast a shadow over any race.  PBs of approx 22, 49 and 119 minutes respectively are testament to that shadow. Never sure to push, never sure to trust my ability. And ultimately getting passed by so many on the run to be almost demotivating.

So, much as our swimming training has gone back to basics, I am hoping that the chi running course will do likewise and I will get a better understanding of my running mechanics and how to improve them. Then, I might hope to be able to compete, rather than simply finish, one or two triathlons next year.

Catherina, it's over to you.

So that's the season ended. Isn't it?

So that’s that then.  Season over.

And I managed to get it all finished in less than the 1 hour 20 minutes I had predicted.  I had quietly been aiming a 1:16, but a 1:17 is nothing to be disappointed by, and finished with a PB on the run.  Happy days.

Again I finished in the middle of the pack, just outside the top 50%, on a par with my other races this year. So again no overall complaints.

Time to wind down and take a break. 2012 was the year of the swim.   I spent more time in the pool than the combined amount of time on the or running.  And it has paid off, where I am now more confident than ever in the water.  There is still lots of room for improvement (isn’t there always), but the base is much stronger now!

So no better time than now to break down my swim stroke and build it back up again.  That’s what our coach intends doing over the next few months. ‘Off season’ deleted!  Today, we spent 45 minutes gliding up and down the pool.  In the coach we must trust.

But already my thoughts are moving to next year.  While my gear wish list has reached ridiculous proportions (doesn’t everyone’s?), it is more the times, races, national championship targets that have been on my mind ever since I finished the Pulse sprint a couple of weeks ago.

The CK triathlon earlier during the summer was my first national series race. The first time I was fully compared against other triathletes (besides on the clock), and it didn’t make for totally ridiculous reading.  After the Pulse tri a couple of weeks ago, I showed I was nothing if not consistent over both sprint and standard distance. And yes, ‘fast’ is not the word I can properly use. Yet.

Being a very competitive male (shock horror!), and now that I am on a league table, a finishing position higher, much higher next year is the basis for the targets.  All of this is of course based on improved times, which will have to be consistent, will have to be faster, and will have to be very competitive.

So while the sun has not yet fully set on the 2012 season, here are the targets for 2013. Set in stone.

1. Complete a national championship (min. 5 championship races.)
2. Break 1:10 for a sprint race. (PB 1:17)
3. Break 2:30 for a standard race. (PB 2:45)
4. Finish in the Top 30 of my age group (35 – 39. This year #238.)

These are quite lofty aims, but ones that I feel are competitive enough to make it a challenge to get there. And if nothing else, provide you with a stick to beat me with this time next year.

2012 is dead. Long live 2013.